High Court upholds life sentence for trafficking in 2019 Male’ drug bust

The High Court has ruled in favor of upholding the life sentence issued against a man convicted of drug trafficking after the police found drugs at an apartment in the Galolhu district of Male’ back in 2019.

Hussain Thaail, a native of Lh. Naifaru, was arrested in a police raid on an apartment located on the sixth floor of G. Vashafaruge on February 26, 2019.

According to the police, Thaail was found inside a locked bedroom in the apartment. A search of the bedroom led to the discovery of 30.8 grams of cannabis packed in 73 rubber packets, scales, and Thaail’s wallet and ID card inside the bedside table drawer.

The state charged two people with drug trafficking in the case; Thaaif and Mahmood Abdulla, who went to the bedroom during the raid.

On September 25, 2023, the Criminal Court acquitted Mahmood, but found Thaaif guilty of drug trafficking. He was sentenced to a life term of 25 years in prison and fined by MVR 100,000.

Thaaif filed an appeal with the High Court based on two main grounds. He argued that the bedroom from where the drugs were found was not his own, but that of a friend, and that he therefore had no claim of ownership over the drugs.

He also asked the court to overturn his admission of guilt during a remand hearing, claiming that he made a false confession in order to protect his younger sibling.

Thaaif also questioned the integrity of the chain of custody of the evidence, and the denial of the opportunity to cross examine the witness who prepared the analysis report on the drugs.

The appeal was heard by a three-member bench led by Judge Ismail Shafeeu and joined by Judge Hassan Shafeeu and Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim.

The judges rejected Thaaif’s arguments, deciding that the fact that he was found alone in a locked room established he had power over the room as well as its contents. They also decided that his confession at the remand hearing that the drugs found in the room were for his personal use establishes he was aware of its existence.

They decided that Thaaif’s claim alone was not enough to throw out a confession made before a judge, and that the possession of over 14 grams of drugs meets the legal requirement for drug trafficking charges.

The judges also noted that Thaaif had never questioned the validity of the analysis report or the chain of custody during his trial, and that it had been his co-defendant’s lawyer who questioned the chain of custody during the trial.

They stated that they cannot examine new arguments or evidence during the appeal process.

The bench decided by unanimous consensus that there were no grounds to overturn the original sentence.